LONE STAR PRIMARIES -- Voters in Texas head to the polls today. The highest-profile race on the ballot is the Republican Senate primary, where Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is trying to hold off conservative favorite Ted Cruz. If Dewhurst cracks 50 percent, he’ll manage to avoid a runoff.

- -Roll Call’s Abby Livingston and David Drucker raise the possibility that Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, generally running in third behind Dewhurst and Cruz, could pull a Deb Fischer and sneak into the runoff: “Although Dewhurst and Cruz are expected to finish one-two, voters have been turned off by the constant sniping between them and the mostly negative attack ads that are running targeting each of the candidates. … The Leppert campaign, well-funded and considered strong in his Dallas-Fort Worth home base, was ‘cautiously optimistic’ heading into primary day. ‘Leppert comes across as a grown-up, and he doesn’t seem angry,’ the unaligned Texas GOP insider said, explaining the candidate’s appeal.” http://bit.ly/KCJX3g

--The final days of the Senate race focused on Dewhurst’s accusation that Cruz supported amnesty for illegal immigrants. In a radio ad released Friday, Dewhurst used Cruz’s position as a board member for two Hispanic groups as evidence, the Texas Tribune’s Aman Batheja reports. George P. Bush, the former president’s nephew, condemned the ad, and at least one of the groups said they didn’t support amnesty. http://bit.ly/KXnBrf

-- Republican donors and lawmakers -- almost all of them anonymous -- tell National Review’s Katrina Trinko that Dewhurst is using his power as lieutenant governor and head of the state Senate to discourage donations to Cruz: “One source familiar with Texas politics who supports Cruz says that he knows ‘a number of significant donors’ who also have business interests in the state and have been ‘told by their lobbyists in Austin, ‘Don’t dare give money to Ted, don’t endorse Ted . . . because if you do you’ll never get anything else through in Austin.’ A former head of a major industry group who supports Cruz says that the Dewhurst campaign emphasized to trade associations in the state that Dewhurst expects a donation from them. And the subtext was clear: Dewhurst was ‘keeping a list [of] who didn’t support him or contribute.’” http://bit.ly/LafOXL

HOUSE RACES TO WATCH -- There are 12 contenders in a Republican primary for the seat held by retiring Rep. Ron Paul. A new district in the state’s southeast that includes NASA headquarters has 12 Republicans running, and State Sen. Mike Jackson, the frontrunner, will probably face a runoff. A new district encompassing parts of Dallas and Fort Worth looks favorable for Democrats, and has 15 candidates splitting the votes of large Hispanic and black populations. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson is facing two candidates in Dallas, and hopes an endorsement from President Barack Obama can offset the cash the Campaign for Primary Accountability has spent there. And along the border, Rep. Silvestre Reyes is facing a strong challenge from Beto O’Rourke. Two Democrats -- former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and state Rep. Pete Gallego -- are competing for the right to face Rep. Quico Canseco in what’s likely to be Texas’ only competitive house race. Here are previews from the Texas Tribune: http://bit.ly/KYUF6q, Roll Call’s Shira Toeplitz http://bit.ly/KN2EBS and National Journal’s Scott Bland: http://bit.ly/KN2EBS

-- Isenstadt’s take: “In the two most closely-watched contests, veteran Reps. Ralph Hall, a Republican, and Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat, are trying to ward off stiff challenges. If either loses or fails to dispatch his opponent, it would be fresh evidence that – after the spring defeats of Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar and Illinois Rep. Don Manzullo — years of service in Washington remain more of a liability than a boon with voters this year,” writes POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt. “The contests follow a contentious and drawn-out Texas redistricting process, which eventually wound up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas added four districts due largely to an explosion in Hispanic population over the last decade, expanding its delegation from 32 seats to 36 seats. Both parties will pick nominees in each of the new districts.” http://politi.co/K4kqkC

McCOTTER MISSES BALLOT -- Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) didn’t turn in the 1,000 valid signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot, his campaign admitted Friday. The Detroit Free Press’ Kathleen Gray and Bill Laitner report McCotter is now leaning toward running a write-in campaign for the Aug. 7 primary. McCotter’s screw-up likely increases Democrat chances of winning his seat. He has a while to decide whether to run as a write-in. The deadline is July 27. http://on.freep.com/KBgVR3

WEINER, A YEAR LATER -- A year after Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) sent his infamous risqué tweet, he’s mulling a return to public life and spending most of his time caring for his daughter. “The one-time Queens-Brooklyn congressman … occasionally offers paid political advice to associates who seek him out. But he still hasn’t figured out what his next real act will be,” Josh Margolin reports for the New York Post. “Political consulting has been discussed. So has a TV pundit slot. But for the time being, most of Weiner’s efforts are spent doing daddy duty, pals said.” http://nyp.st/LDAmq3

--BuzzFeed’s Rosie Gray takes a look at the “Weiner Truthers,” an obscure corner of the liberal blogosphere who believe Weiner was blackmailed into resigning. “Different versions of the theory exist; some involve the premise that Republican congressman Michael Grimm, from a neighboring district, extorted Weiner, or that @patriotusa76, the account that first pointed out Weiner's tweet, was a paid campaign tracker for the Republicans,” Gray writes. http://bit.ly/Ko1q0K

‘YOUNG GUNS’ REJECT NORQUIST PLEDGE -- The Washington Post’s Rosalind Helderman reported over the weekend: “Of the 25 candidates this year promoted by the National Republican Congressional Committee as ‘Young Guns’ and ‘Contenders’ — the top rungs of a program that highlights promising candidates who are challenging Democrats or running in open seats — at least a third have indicated they do not plan to sign the pledge authored by anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Two of the seven candidates promoted by the NRCC as the ‘Young Gun Vanguard’ — candidates competing in open seats that are considered Republican-leaning — also have declined to sign.” http://wapo.st/MUR8Xn

SESSIONS TOOK TAXYPAYER-FUNDED TRIPS TO CROATIA RESORT TOWN – Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has lambasted the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for holding its annual conference in Maui this year. “But even a budget hawk such as Sessions — who has voluntarily cut operating costs in his office and the minority side of the Budget Committee by 15 percent — has done a bit of taxpayer-funded travel, including a 2011 trip to the Croatian resort town of Opatija to give the keynote address at an International Leaders Summit,” John Stanton writes for Roll Call. “And his top health care staffer spent two weekends that year on the tony resort island of Destin, Fla., at medical conferences. Like the conferences put on by the 9th Circuit and the GSA, these trips were undertaken for official business, do not violate any ethics rules and are generally seen as vital parts of a lawmaker and his staff’s duties. They do, however, cost money.” http://bit.ly/JRVuIw

DOJ INVESTIGATING BP TESTIMONY -- The Wall Street Journal’s Tom Fowler reports: “Federal investigators are exploring whether BP PLC representatives lied to Congress about how much oil was leaking after the Deepwater Horizon accident two years ago, a development that could lead to additional criminal charges against current and former company employees. Prosecutors are examining statements made by BP officials to members of Congress, including those from a May 4, 2010, briefing where they discussed the best guesses for the rate at which oil was spilling from the damaged well following the April 20 accident, according to people familiar with the investigation.” http://on.wsj.com/JL2hG1

BARBER WON’T VOW SUPPORT FOR PELOSI -- Ron Barber, the former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) staffer hoping to replace her in Congress, won’t promise to support Nancy Pelosi as minority leader or speaker. “That’s a decision that’s way off in the future, and I wouldn’t know the answer to that question until we know who the candidates are for Speaker,” Barber told Roll Call’s Abby Livingston. Republicans are trying to tie Barber to Pelosi. Barber said he wasn’t sure if he would join the Blue Dog Coalition, which Giffords was a member of, but did say he wanted to follow in Giffords’s footsteps and serve on the House Armed Services Committee. http://bit.ly/LODX8v

ANTI-UNION GROUP TARGETS ROOKIE GOPers -- “An anti-union construction trade group is targeting three vulnerable House Republican freshmen with a barrage of negative advertising over a series of labor-friendly votes,” Janie Lorber writes for Roll Call. “Reps. Jon Runyan (N.J.), Joe Walsh(Ill.) and Robert Dold (Ill.) already face tough re-election battles that could be complicated by a spate of online ads from the Associated Builders and Contractors accusing them of breaking campaign promises. … The ads, which will run through the end of next week and cost more than $100,000, also target Reps. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) and Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.).” Associated Builders and Contractors is pushing to overturn an executive order they argue gives union firms an unfair advantage in bidding for federal contracts. http://bit.ly/KSAYY8

SEIB: PORTMAN, THE UN-PALIN – On A4 of today’s Wall Street Journal, Jerry Seib sums up the buzz around VP prospect Rob Portman: “[I]f the goal is to avoid a Palin-like experience—well, Rob Portman is the un-Palin of 2012. His résumé is sterling. There is no chance his credentials would be questioned, little chance he would hurt the ticket and only a slim chance he would commit a distracting gaffe. These aren't small things to a campaign already famous for its methodical approach. Whether they are reason enough for Mr. Romney to pick him is, of course, anybody's guess. But this picture explains why Mr. Portman has, in the past few weeks, gone from oft-mentioned to most-mentioned vice-presidential choice.” http://on.wsj.com/JJ5cid

--The Hill’s Alex Bolton writes that senators think senators would make a pretty good veep pick for Mitt Romney.http://bit.ly/LDBNoB

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 29, 2012, and welcome back to The Huddle, where we hope you had a restful and safe Memorial Day weekend. Please send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC. Jake is @jakesherman, Jon is @jonallendc and Robillard is @PoliticoKevin.

My new followers include, but are not limited to @infieldal and @CRNC.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate is not in session this week. The House meets in a pro forma sessions and is back at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

NLRB MEMBER RESIGNS – The NLRB has been at the center of labor fights between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill all year. Now, the politicization of the board has claimed one of its own. The WSJ’s Mary Lu Carnevale writes: A member of the National Labor Relations Board who faces allegations of leaking information about pending board decisions to a former adviser to Mitt Romney, is stepping down, the NLRB said Sunday. Terence Flynn, a Republican who has served on the five-member board since Jan. 9, after a recess appointment by President Barack Obama, submitted his resignation letter to the president and to NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce on Friday evening, the NLRB said. The brief letter, dated May 25, didn't bring up the allegations. …Earlier this month, the NLRB's inspector general alleged in a report that Mr. Flynn released proprietary information to former board member Peter Schaumber, who had been an adviser to Mr. Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

-- “The report was made public by Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Mr. Miller, along with Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) had called for Mr. Flynn's resignation.” http://on.wsj.com/KVHAqg

KERREY’S HURDLES – The Omaha World-Herald’s Robynn Tysver rattles off the numerous obstacles standing in the way of Democrat Bob Kerrey claiming his old Senate seat, including the fact that he’s an “aging” political rock star. “To win, Kerrey will need to woo moderate Republicans and independents into his camp. The task is not impossible. He has won three statewide races with the help of moderate swing voters, but he no longer has the advantages of incumbency. He also is running in a more polarized political environment against a woman many political observers say will be harder for Kerrey to beat than the man many expected to be his opponent — Attorney General Jon Bruning. Bruning was the GOP front-runner until the final week of the Republican primary campaign, when [Deb] Fischer began to surge. Her rise in the polls was aided, in part, by a last-minute ad blitz that hammered Bruning on character issues, including his rising personal wealth while serving as attorney general. Undoubtedly, Kerrey would have amplified those attacks, making the race more about Bruning's character than the candidates' stances on the issues. Now the Fischer camp says it will highlight differences between her and Kerrey on cap and trade, late-term abortions and health care, to name a few.” http://bit.ly/MToeED

POLITICO PLAYBOOK’S PALACE INTRIGUE – Chicago Tribune 1-col. lead, “Kirk’s ex-wife questions campaign payments: FEC complaint involves girlfriend; senator’s office decries claim,” by Katherine Skiba and Todd Lighty: “Soon after Mark Kirk's ex-wife announced she would no longer support his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate, he brought her onto his campaign team, then quietly paid her after his victory. But Kimberly Vertolli, a lawyer who received $40,000 from the campaign, again is at odds with her ex-husband, filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Kirk and his then-girlfriend may have broken campaign finance law.

“The girlfriend, Dodie McCracken, who works in public relations, has acknowledged receiving more than $143,000 in fees and expenses for her campaign work. A former live-in girlfriend, she is no longer romantically involved with Kirk, according to a campaign aide. Kirk's campaign has characterized Vertolli as an aggrieved ex-wife and labeled ‘groundless’ her complaint … At the heart of the matter is Vertolli's assertion that the Kirk campaign may have improperly hidden money to McCracken by paying her through another company working for the campaign. Because the money was not paid directly to McCracken, her name does not appear in Kirk's federal disclosures.” http://trib.in/LamXqO

CBC, MINISTERS TO LOOK AT VOTER ID LAWS -- McClatchy’s William Douglas reports: “African-American churches … are grappling this election year with how to navigate through the wave of new voting-access laws approved in many Republican-controlled states ... Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and several hundred clergy leaders from the Conference of National Black Churches are scheduled to hold a summit Wednesday in Washington to discuss the new laws, their potential impact on African-American voters and how churches can educate parishioners, help them register and help get them to the polls on Election Day to prevent any significant drop-off from 2008. ‘We will have attorneys there who are well-equipped to provide the guidance to the clergy members,’ said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., the Congressional Black Caucus chair and a United Methodist pastor.” http://bit.ly/M1gSlL

NEW DEBT LIMIT SHOWDOWN COULD LEAD TO RECESSION -- In a column for Bloomberg View, two economists argue the first debt limit showdown dealt significant damage to the economy. “Confidence began falling right around May 11, when Boehner first announced he would not support increasing the debt limit. It went into freefall as the political stalemate worsened through July. Over the entire episode, confidence declined more than it did following the collapse of Lehman Brothers,” Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson write. “... Growth in nonfarm payrolls decelerated to an average 88,000 a month during the three months of the debt-ceiling impasse, compared with an average of 176,000 in the first five months of 2011 (see chart). Payroll growth subsequently recovered and has averaged 187,000 jobs a month since. Despite the rebound in job growth, employment is likely still below where it would otherwise have been.” The duo’s conclusion: “Another stalemate would almost certainly plunge the economy into a deep recession.” http://bloom.bg/KZxGot

STAR-LEDGER BACKS PASCRELL -- The Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s paper of record, picks Bill Pascrell over Steve Rothman in the state’s member-versus-member Democratic primary: “He has fought a cleaner campaign, he is a bridge-builder at a time when that is needed, and he sits on the crucial Ways and Means committee as the nation’s tax laws are likely to be rewritten. … He makes friends easily, even with Republicans, and has cobbled together bipartisan actions to boost federal aid to fire departments and to address the growing problem of concussions and brain injuries.” The paper also criticizes Rothman for passing on a run against Republican Rep. Scott Garrett, “ an uncompromising extremist who personifies what is wrong with Congress today.” http://bit.ly/LaqSnN

ARIZ. CANDIDATES SQUABBLE OVER FEC COMPLAINTS -- The Arizona Republic’s Dan Nowicki reports: “The top two candidates for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination are feuding over dueling complaints before the Federal Election Commission. Wil Cardon and Jeff Flake have both been hit with complaints related to the financing of their bids to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. And both campaigns insist the complaints against their candidate are frivolous and politically motivated, while seizing on the other complaint to bludgeon their opponent.” Each complaint is complicated: One man who claims Cardon’s father owes him $74,000 is now claiming Cardon is illegally using corporate money to fund his campaign, while another questions if Flake accurately reported donations from the Club for Growth. http://bit.ly/KBt8VV

NEW BROWN AD EMPHASIZES BIPARTISANSHIP -- The Boston Globe’s Travis Andersen reports: “The 30-second spot, dubbed ‘Diner’ and shot at James’ Breakfast and More in Wrentham, shows Brown entering the restaurant and speaking directly into the camera. ‘The problem with Washington is that people down there are always battling,’ Brown says. ‘That’s not how I operate. We’re Americans first, and I’ll work with anyone to get things done.’ … The spot will air in the Boston, Springfield, Providence, and Albany markets, as well as on statewide cable, Brown’s campaign said in a statement.” http://b.globe.com/N3yxpP

FRIDAY’STRIVIA WINNER – Lots of good guesses on Friday, but Tom Flanagin was first to correctly answer that Sen. Olympia Snowe had a snow sculpture built in her honor. In 2008, the town of Bethel, Maine, built a 122-foot snow woman and named it “Olympia.”

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Aaron Merkin offers today’s question: Who was the first woman to run for Congress even though she wasn’t eligible to vote? Email me at swong@politico.com.

THE NATS LINE – The Marlins rallied in the sixth inning and scored three runs, helping them defeat the Nationals 5-3 in the first of a three-game series in Miami. The Nats and Fish are back at it again at 7:10 tonight.

WEATHER -- Temperatures will be in the low 90s, with afternoon showers and thunderstorms possible, according to ABC 7’s Steve Rudin.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

About The Author

Scott Wong covers transportation for POLITICO Pro, and authors The Huddle, POLITICO’s popular morning tipsheet on Congress. He was a congressional reporter with the publication from 2010 to 2012.

He reported from Tucson, Ariz., after the deadly shooting rampage that severely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords and helped break a story about Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s private plane that led to her admission she owed more than $300,000 in state property taxes.

He got his professional start in journalism covering local government for two small newspapers in his native San Francisco Bay Area. He later became a staff writer for The Arizona Republic, where he covered the Arizona statehouse and Phoenix City Hall.

After graduating from UCLA, he spent a year teaching English in a rural mountain village in Japan. He is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, and lives with his wife and daughter in Washington.